Theft proof merchandise display having a hanging type holder

ABSTRACT

A display device having a plurality of relatively movable support members provided with cooperable merchandise-receiving and display spindle elements. A holder is provided for being held on the spindle elements, one of the spindle elements having means for holding the holder in an open hanging position so that the holder need not be completely removed from the device when it is desired to remove the article.

United States Patent 1 1 Crosslen 1 Mar. 27, 1973 i 54 THEFT-PROOFMERCHANDISE 1,475,025 11 1923 Newman et al ..40 102 DISPLAY HAVING AHANGING-TYPE 81 3 FOSS en e a HOLDER p 3,661,273 5/1972 Crosslen..2ll/l69 [75] Inventor: Louis John Crosslen, Grafton, Wis. [73]Assigneez Frank Mayer & Associates, Inc., Primary m Brim Grafton,Attorney-James E. N1lles [22] Filed: Alig. 18, 1971 57 ABSTRACT PP N051721625 A display device having a plurality of relatively movablesupport members provided with cooperable 52 U.S. c1 ..211/169, 40/l04.l8merchandise-receiving and p y Spindle elemente A 51 1111.01 ..A47f.5/02,A47f 5/10 holder is Provided for being held on the spindle 58 Field ofSearch ..2l1/l68, 163, 165, 169, 4, mm, one o the spindle elements i gmeans for 211/126; 40/72, 104,18, 10417, 102 holding the holder in anopen hanging position so that 104,02, 155 the holder need not becompletely removed from the device when it is desired to remove thearticle. 1 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1 2 Claims, 9'Drawing Figures 3/1891 Frercks ..40 72 -another article in the holderfor reassembly THEFT-PROOFMERCHANDISE DISPLAY HAVING A HANGING-TYPEHOLDER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention pertains generally to adisplay device having relatively movable support members provided withopposed and cooperating spindles, and a holder is provided for beingattached to the spindles.

A display device of the general character to which the invention relatesis shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,517,827, issued June 30, 1970 andentitled Theft- Proof Merchandising Display. Furthermore, the'improvedholder provided by the present invention is in the nature of animprovement over the holder shown in the U.S. Pat. application Ser. No.56,507, filed July 20, 1970 which issued on May 9, l972 U.S. Pat. No.

3,661,273, and entitled Theft-Proof Merchandise Display Having HoldingAdaptor. In the holder shown in saidpatent, all three sections of theU-shaped holder were hinged relative to one another, but is was awkwardto remove the article and also to again replace in the display device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a display devicehaving oppositely disposed support member with spindles extendingtherefrom, the upper spindle of which has means for permitting a holderto hang loosely from the device while the article is being removed fromor replaced therein. In this manner, the holder can be retained in ahanging position on the device so that it need not be handled separatelyand become misplaced or lost, and this further facilitates againinserting anew article in the holder for support by the display device.

lower leg, a side member and an upper leg, the lower leg and side memberof which are rigidly secured together while the upper member is hingedon the side member; this construction provides a support for the articleand prevents its falling from the holder even though the holder may bepartially open-at its hinged joint.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appearhereinafter as this disclosure progresses, reference being had to-theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of adisplay device and showing the adaptor when holding the article to bedisplayed, locked in the device;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view of a portion of thedevice of FIG. 1, on an enlarged-scale;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 1 but with the supportmember in open position, and with the adaptor open to permit removal ofthe article;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged elevational view of the upper spindle and showingthe anvil by means of which it is fastened to the upper support member;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a spindle attached to the uppersupport member and showing a portion of the holder hanging therefrom,certain parts being shown as broken away or removed for clarity.

0 portion of the side of the holder being shown as broken away.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A merchandise display shownherein as usable with the invention comprises a pair of axially-spacedsupports 12 and 14 which are of disc shape and each having a centralaperture for rotation on an upright shaft 16 which is secured to andextends upwardly from a suitable base 18. I

Supports 12 and 14 are preferably rotatably received on the shaft 16and, for this purpose, suitable anti-friction bearings 20 and 22 may beprovided below the lower member 12 and above the upper member 14 of eachpair respectively. Each pair of supports 12 and 14 are also spacedaxially from each other a minimum predetermined distance while beingrelatively axially v movable to a limited extent beyond such predeter-The invention also provides an improved holder which is generally of aU-shaped construction and having a' mined minimum. For this purpose aswell as to key the supports 12 andl4 of each set together and therebyprevent relative rotational movement thereof, the support 12 is providedwith an annular series of spaced upwardly-directed spacer and guideposts 24 each having a reduced end portion 26 slideably received in analigned aperture 28 in the other support 14, and the support 14 isformed with a similar annular series of al-' ternately-spaceddownwardly-directed spacer and guide posts 30 each also having areduced'end portion I 32 slideably received in an aligned aperture 34 inthe support 12.

Axial displacement of the supports 12, 14 is prevented by means of pins36, 38 or the like adjacent the ends of the reduced portions 26, 32 ofthe respective posts 24, 30, and these pins 36, 38 cooperate with theshoulders 40, 42 formed by the respective reduced portions to permitlimited relative axial movement of the supports 12, 14 withinpredetermined limits. The supports 12, l4 are furthermore constantlyresiliently urged apart by means of a spring 44 or the like to thefullest extent permitted by the stops 36, 38, thecoil spring 44 beingcompressed between the adjacent faces of the supports l2, 14.

Each of the supports l2, 14 is formed with an annular series of equallyspaced an axially aligned spindle shafts 46, 48 respectively forreceiving articles 72 to be displayed. As shown, the spindle shafts 46project upwardly from the lower support 12 toward the downwardlyprojecting spindle shafts support 14 of each set.

A holder H of generally.'U-shaped constructionand having a lower member49, a side member 50 and an upper member 51 is provided for being heldby the pairs of opposed upper and lower spindles, as will more fullyappear.

To simultaneously lock the holder I-I against displacement from thespindle shafts 46, 48, it is only 48 of the upper necessary to move thesupports l2, l4 axially toward each other to the extent permitted by theshoulders 40, 42 of the reduced portions 26, 32 of the guide posts, andfor such purpose, a cam lever 52 is provided on the shaft 16 above theupper support 14. This cam lever 52 may be pivotally secured to theshaft 16 as by means of a pivot pin 54 and has a cam surface 56 coactingwith the upper bearing 22 to further compress the spring 44 and move thesupports l2, l4 axially toward each other when swung to one positionwhile permitting the spring 44 to spread the supports 12, 14 apart whenswung to an open position.

It will be noted that the upper spindle 48 has a reduced intermediateportion 60. As shown in FIG. 4, the spindle is attached to the uppersupport by the expediency of providing an anvil 61 snugly against theshoulder 62 and then driving the spindle downwardly so as to causeportion 62 to flare, as shown in FIG. 5,

thereby'securely fixing the spindle in the upper support 14. It will benoted that the spindle also has a lower shoulder 63 which, as shown inFIG. 5, is adapted to receive the holder H and permit it to be hanginglysuspended from the spindle when the holder is in the open-position shownin FIG. 3. For this purpose, the upper member 51 of the holder has anaperture 65 which is of tapered construction and which is of such sizethat it very snugly slides over the lower portion 66 of the spindle, butwhen in the hanging position, the holder will not slip off the spindlebut instead is retained against the shoulder 63.

The improved holder H provided by the present invention has its lowermember 49 and its side member 50 formed as an integral L-shaped part,while the upper member 51 is hinged to the side member by means of thehinge pin 67. The lower member also has an opening 68 which is inalignment with upper opening 65. A pair of inwardly-turned flanges 69and 70 are provided, respectively, on the inner ends of upper member 51and lower member 49 so as to retain the article 72, such as a tapecassette, securely in the holder. The holder also has opposite flanges74 and 75 extending around each of the members 49, 50 and 51, thereby Iholding the article 72 captive in the assembled holder.

The holder H itself is preferably formed from highimpact styrene, forexample, of the type made by Dow Chemical Company.

When it is desired to remove an article from the locked position shownin FIG. 1, the upper support 14 is raised, as shown in FIG. 3, and theholder lifted slightly to cause the lower member 49 to befree of itsspindle 46. The holder can then be pivoted about its hinge to the openposition shown in FIG. 3, while at the same time, the upper member 51 isstill attached to the upper spindle 48. In this manner, the article 72can be removed from the hanging holder without the operator having topay any attention to the holder itself. This can be more or less ofaone-handed operation and it is also an easy matter to reassemble anotherarticle in the holder for replacement in the display device. By havingthe lower member 49 and side member 50 made in one piece, the holder, asshown in the position of FIG. 3, can still support the article 72 tosome extent, thereby minimizing the danger of the article inadvertentlyfalling. In this position, the flange and the side flanges 74 and 74 actto support the article.

I claim:

1. In a combination with a display device of the type having a pair ofoppositely disposed supports, said supports each having projectingspindles which are in axial and opposed vertical alignment, the upperspindle having an annular groove around its periphery which defines ashoulder on said spindle, one of said supports being shiftable relativeto the other support for varying the distance therebetween, a holderbetween said opposed and aligned spindles, said holder having a lowermember, a side member and an upper member, said upper and side membersbeing foldable relative to one another and said lower and side membersbeing rigidly fixed together, said members defining a generally U-shaped holder having an open inner side and which holder can embrace thearticle to be displayed, said upper and lower member having free endsadjacent said open side and an aperture adjacent said free ends forreceiving said spindles, the aperture in said upper member being of asize that it snugly slides over said upper spindle whereby when theupper member aperture is in said groove then said upper member abutsagainst said shoulder and saidholder can hang on said upper spindle,said holder also having flange-means for embracing the article to bedisplayed on both sides thereof when said holder is folded into agenerally U- shape to embrace said article.

2. In a combination with a display device of the type having an uppersupport and a lower support, said supports each having projectingspindles which are in axial and opposed alignment, the spindles of saidupper support having an annular groove therearound defining an annularshoulder at the lower end of said groove, one of said supports beingshiftable relative to the other support for varying the distancetherebetween, a holder between said opposed and aligned spindles, saidholder having a lower member, a side member and an upper member, saidupper and side members being foldable relative to one another betweenholder open and holder closed positions, said lower and side members Ibeing rigidly fixed together, said members defining a generally U-shapedholder which can embrace the article to be displayed, said upper andlower members having free ends and an aperture adjacent said free endsfor receiving said spindles, the aperture of said upper member beinglocated in said groove and having a diameter such as to snugly slide onsaid upper spindle so as to cause said holder to abut against saidshoulder and hang from its upper spindle when said holder is in saidopen position, said holder also having flange means for embracing thearticle to be displayed on both sides thereof when said holder is foldedinto said closed position in a generally U-shape to embrace saidarticle.

1. In a combination with a display device of the type having a pair ofoppositely disposed supports, said supports each having projectingspindles which are in axial and opposed vertical alignment, the upperspindle having an annular groove around its periphery which defines ashoulder on said spindle, one of said supports being shiftable relativeto the other support for varying the distance therebetween, a holderbetween said opposed and aligned spindles, said holder having a lowermember, a side member and an upper member, said upper and side membersbeing foldable relative to one another and said lower and side membersbeing rigidly fixed together, said members defining a generally U-shapedholder having an open inner side and which holder can embrace thearticle to be displayed, said upper and lower member having free endsadjacent said open side and an aperture adjacent said free ends forreceiving said spindles, the aperture in said upper member being of asize that it snugly slides over said upper spindle whereby when theupper member aperture is in said groove then said upper member abutsagainst said shoulder and said holder can hang on said upper spindle,said holder also having flange means for embracing the article to bedisplayed on both sides thereof when said holder is folded into agenerally Ushape to embrace said article.
 2. In a combination with adisplay device of the type having an upper support and a lower support,Said supports each having projecting spindles which are in axial andopposed alignment, the spindles of said upper support having an annulargroove therearound defining an annular shoulder at the lower end of saidgroove, one of said supports being shiftable relative to the othersupport for varying the distance therebetween, a holder between saidopposed and aligned spindles, said holder having a lower member, a sidemember and an upper member, said upper and side members being foldablerelative to one another between holder open and holder closed positions,said lower and side members being rigidly fixed together, said membersdefining a generally U-shaped holder which can embrace the article to bedisplayed, said upper and lower members having free ends and an apertureadjacent said free ends for receiving said spindles, the aperture ofsaid upper member being located in said groove and having a diametersuch as to snugly slide on said upper spindle so as to cause said holderto abut against said shoulder and hang from its upper spindle when saidholder is in said open position, said holder also having flange meansfor embracing the article to be displayed on both sides thereof whensaid holder is folded into said closed position in a generally U-shapeto embrace said article.